Before You Act, Remember, Every Problem is Not a Nail

Choose the solution that best resolves the problem you have.

You ability to grow your practice will be substantially enhanced when…

You understand and have documented the value you are trying to obtain.

You accurately assess the causes of the problems stopping you from achieving your goals.

You stop trying to solve every problem with the same solution.

The hammer Charlie Munger is referring to is Maslow’s Hammer or the Law of the Instrument. It basically says that it is madness to try to solve every problem as if the only tool you had is a hammer.

Imagine, for example, you are trying to grow your practice, but are struggling to attract new clients. Now imagine someone selling SEO services comes to you and tells you that SEO is the secret to growing your practice. You have a growth problem, and now you think you have a growth solution.

What if the cause of your inability to grow is that you are targeting the wrong audience. In that case, not only will SEO not work, it will likely cause more problems by attracting the wrong people to your practice.

My work experience includes everything from advising businesses as a CPA, selling big business software for companies like Peoplesoft and Oracle and now, starting, running and growing a small professional services firm.